Bikini Boot Camp BLOG

Sunday, October 31. 2010

Tuesday November 2, 2010 10am-12pm
Join us for a morning for moms and babes! Learn more about how to foster the relationship with your partner after baby, what kinesiotaping is and how it can help get you and hear from Bikini Boot Camp's co-owner Lindsay Nealon as she dispels the myths of pre & postnatal fitness. Fabulous prizes for those who attend!

Call or email Lifestyles Wellness Group to attend (lifestyleswg@telus.net).
See you there!

Tuesday, October 26. 2010

Ready to take a leading role in trimming your thighs, shaping your glutes and forming hips that fit perfectly in even your tightest pair of jeans? Listen up, ladies: The lunge does it all. Whether you've seen others performing this exercise or you've dabbled with it yourself, you might have reservations. After all, it can be a challenging movement to learn, especially if you're a beginner as it certainly takes a bit of balance, flexibility and leg strength to perform without feeling uncoordinated.

The lunge, in all of its forms, primarily targets the quadriceps and gluteus maximus, the muscle that gives your backside its shape and definition. But its benefits don't stop there -- all of the leg muscles, from the hamstrings to the inner and outer thighs, are improved by this versatile move.

During the lunge, one leg is flexed forward, the other extended backward. This emphasizes quadriceps and gluteal strength on the front leg while requiring dynamic flexibility of the back leg, specifically the hip flexors and calf muscles. Since one leg is moving in front of the other, the lunge incorporates flexion of the torso toward the front leg, which is also necessary for normal walking and running.

In addition to the leg muscles, muscles of the spine (erector spinae) and abdomen (obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis) are also recruited to stabilize the torso.

There are many forms and progressions of the lunge...forward, reverse, side, walking, pulsing, jumping....

Sunday, October 24. 2010

NAKED Fashion Boutique is hosting a Blushing Brides Event to celebrate the launch of the Laura George collection of wedding gowns. Come down, sip champagne and visit with 8 local independent businesses working together to present the best wedding options available in Calgary.

Monday, October 18. 2010

Ring the kettle bell. School's back in
Jillian Michaels needs to know what she's doing before she makes promises about her new fitness DVD.
October 11, 2010|By James S. Fell, Special to the Los Angeles Times
(Page 2 of 3)

A kettle bell is a traditional Russian training tool that looks like a cannonball with a handle affixed. It allows for a wide variety of swinging movements that focus more on development of power and endurance, whereas most weightlifting focuses on slow-speed strength. In order to reduce the risk of injury and maximize your results, qualified instruction is strongly recommended.

What made an unqualified Jillian Michaels decide to create a kettle bell DVD? I imagine she received a call one day from her agent that went something like this:

Agent: Some kind of bowling ball thingy. It will be a real moneymaker!

Michaels: Money? I'm in.

All jokes aside, I wanted to give Michaels the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she got some professional instruction to ensure her kettle bell technique was safe and effective. So I asked Dave Cheng, chief instructor at Kettle Bells Los Angeles, to critique her form for me.

"Her technique is appalling," Cheng told me. "What she says in the video and what she demonstrates are two different things. She doesn't break things down into manageable pieces that prompt people to get the correct form, so instead she is enabling bad form… I would not recommend this from a safety perspective."

Cheng also added that he thought Michaels "is simply trying to capitalize on the popularity of kettle bells without going through her due diligence."

I asked Dave about the benefits of kettle bells compared with traditional weightlifting, and he informed me that kettle bells "allow for improving ballistic strength, making for a more optimal athlete," which actually sounds pretty awesome.

If you dismiss Cheng's comments as those of someone jealous of Michaels' fame and riches, consider that he is far from the only certified kettle bell instructor disconcerted with her technique. Denver-based instructor Josh Hillis had this to say in a blog post regarding her technique: "It's just wrong ... in every way. All of it. Every single thing she does is wrong."

Austin, Texas, trainer Jude Howe was so disgusted with Michaels' kettle bell movements that he posted a YouTube video showing how they really should be done. "Her technique and approach was so off the mark," he told me. "It couldn't have been more dangerous, and I felt the need to show people proper form."

If you decide to try kettle bells, Cheng recommends your instructor be RKC-certified, because the process is mentally and physically grueling, and they'll actually fail potential instructors who don't cut it; some other organizations will certify anyone who shows up with cash.

Now let's take a look at Michaels' weight-loss claims using the example of a middle-aged woman who weighs 190 pounds. Since there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, to fulfill Michaels' promise of losing 5 pounds a week, this woman needs a weekly deficit of 17,500 calories.

Part of this massive caloric deficit can result from dietary restriction — but not too much or it could cause her metabolism to slow down and she would experience intense hunger. A minimum intake for our hypothetical woman is around 1,400 calories a day, which is about 500 less than her typical weight-maintenance diet. Over the course of a week, she could lose 1 pound this way. So just 4 pounds — or 14,000 calories — left to account for.

Kettle bells can be a tremendous calorie-burner in the hands of an experienced user. But since Michaels' DVD is targeted at overweight and out-of-shape women, I think a generous estimation of how many calories our hypothetical woman can burn is about 600 an hour. Considering that she would burn roughly 100 calories sitting on the couch, the actual extra calories burned from doing Michaels' workout is 500 per hour.

Dividing that into the remaining weekly deficit of 14,000 calories, we find that our poor woman needs to use Michaels' kettle bell DVD for 28 hours each week. That's four hours of kettle bells a day — every single day.

I can hear the exploding lumbar discs already.

Since no one can reasonably expect that people are going to do this DVD for 28 hours a week, the only conclusion we can make is that Michaels is really bad at math.

I contacted Michaels to get her side of the story, but her schedule was too full to make room for a conversation with me, according to her publicist Ashley Sandberg in New York.

While Jillian Michaels fans must be frothing at the mouth, I think when a person proclaims the only way to get in shape is through hard work (true), then adds her name and image to a brand of diet pills (hypocritical), then faces a class-action lawsuit over the lack of efficacy regarding said diet pills (unsurprising), coupled with myriad examples of unqualified and unsafe training along with outrageous weight loss claims, then it's time to find a new source of fitness education and inspiration.

Fell is a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Calgary, Canada.

SHE is excited to help us promote Bikini Boot Camp's Bras for a Cause workout on Sunday, October 24, 2010. Everyone at the workout will receive $10 off the purchase of a new bra, along with a complimentary bra fitting, at SHE.

Tuesday, October 12. 2010

- It repels mosquitos...tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
- Eliminates static electricity from your television screen...wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
- Dissolves soap scum from shower doors...clean with a used sheet of Bounce.
- Freshens the air in your home...place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang one in the closet.
- Prevents thread from tangling...run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce to eliminate the static cling on the thread before sewing.
- Eliminates static cling from pantyhose...rub a damp, used sheet of Bounce over the hose.
- Prevents musty suitcases...place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
- Freshens the air in your car...place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
- Cleans baked on food from a cooking pan...put a sheet in the pan, fill with water, let sit overnight and sponge clean.
- Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
- Wipes up sawdust from drilling or sandpapering...a used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
- Eliminates odours in dirty laundry...place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
- Deodorizes shoes or sneakers...place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they'll smell great in the morning.

Friday, October 8. 2010

Thanksgiving weekend is upon us and I have much to be thankful for...my family, my Bikini Boot Camp family, my beautiful granddaughter, my health but most of all, that I am loved...what are you thankful for?

Tuesday, October 5. 2010

I love to run. It makes my soul sing. So on Sunday October 3rd, 2010, I had the privilege of running with a team from Bikini Boot Camp for CIBC Race for the Cure. It was a beautiful fall morning and I was grinning ear to ear. We all met at Willowpark Starbucks then walked over to parking lot of Southcenter Mall. Our team captain Kate Zia organized us all with pink tank tops and tattooed faces. . There was pink and white everywhere. Women, men, children and yes even dogs, dressed up and were ready to kick some cancer butt. There was music and singing as everyone got into the spirit of the pink and white celebration. Our Pretty in Pink group made our way to the start line. We were near the front of the massive group of people that where all there for this amazing cause. I turned around to scan the crowd of runners and walkers, all I could see were more and more people, it was beautiful. The race started and there were people cheering on every corner, young and old, everyone was showing their support. It was one of the best 5 km I have ever run. I felt blessed to be able to run and dedicate my race to women everywhere. It was a great day. Thank you to Kate and all the ladies I ran with. Also thank you to my boyfriend, John, who showed his spirit by wearing one of my pink hoodies. He was our photographer for the day and took some great pictues.

Monday, October 4. 2010

Bikini Boot Camp’s Bras for a Cause Workout has become an event ladies look forward to every year! In the past 5 years over 500 ladies have participated, 5500 bras have been collected and over $11,000 has been raised to support the Breast Cancer Supportive Care Foundation here in Calgary. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Bikini Boot Camp will make a difference, again.

Bikini Boot Camp’s philosophy is simple. “We are committed to empowering women and making a difference in their lives. By doing our Bras for a Cause workout we are supporting a Foundation which makes a difference not only to the women affected by breast cancer, but also to their family and friends supporting them.” says Lindsay Nealon, Co-owner of Bikini Boot Camp.

“Our Bras for a Cause Workout is an event that is talked about all year long.” says Dawn Kosloski, Co-owner of Bikini Boot Camp. “Watching over 100 ladies walk into the park with shopping bags overflowing with bras is an incredible sight!”

“Each year this event becomes bigger and we are able to help more women. There is always a participant who comes up to us at the workout to thank us and let us know that they have personally received support through the Breast Cancer Supportive Care Foundation. It feels amazing!” adds Nealon.

Sunday, October 3. 2010

Best wishes to all our Bikini Boot Camp participants running in Calgary and across Canada in the October 3, CIBC Run for the Cure to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition to training, running requires a lot of mental focus; when I hit my wall, I turn to inspirational scenes from favourite movies and TV shows as well as from music. Here's one of my favourite lines from a song that always gives me a boost when I need it':
"Here I go is my shot; feet fail me not; cause this maybe the only opportunity that I got." Tell me if you can you guess the song? And tell me what do you turn to when you need to dig deep? Having those visuals in your mind will help you push past your wall to achieve your running goals.
Good luck from Kate, in Calgary

Wednesday, September 29. 2010

“The foot bone connected to the leg bone,
The leg bone connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the back bone,
The back bone connected to the neck bone,
The neck bone connected to the head bone”

Our body is connected in more ways than most know. When there is a long standing orthopedic problem somewhere in your body, chances are the problem is connected in some way to another area of your body. If your ankles or knees hurt just from walking, I would guess that you may have some issues with your feet. Even if your feet are hurting, there may be an issue with your calves. Tight calves can lead to problems in your knees, hips and lower back. This in turn can cause problems in your upper back, shoulders, neck and even head. You see, everything is connected, a kinetic chain. When a part of this chain is weak or damaged, it will affect other parts of the chain. Those parts affect other parts and so on.

I get asked questions constantly about people’s orthopedic problems, and more-so, how to solve them. People ask about sore, creaky knees, shin splints, achy shoulders, hurting ankles, bad feet, etc… While some of these problems are “acute”, meaning that they just occurred, usually from an outside force or trauma, most are linked and directly related to other issues in the body.

Common reasons for these issues are:

Compensation due to another injury. An example would be putting more weight on one leg to take pressure off of the “bad”, or injured leg. Muscular imbalances around a joint. This occurs frequently in the shoulder. In many people the internal rotators are overdeveloped or over activated, while the external rotators are left weak or under activated. Many people have muscular imbalances all over the body that can cause many issues. Scar tissue build up or adhesions from previous injury. Most active people have some scar tissue somewhere in the body. Some of us have more than others. If you were ever injured, than you have scar tissue. This scar tissue can cause an obvious limit in range of motion, thus causing improper joint mechanics. Improper Movement patterns. If you swing a golf club the wrong way long enough, not only will your golf game suffer, but you will quickly develop bad motor patters or mechanics. This in time will lead to imbalances of strength, and flexibility, pain, injury, and over compensation patterns. Bad movement patterns can occur in anything that you do, whether it is as simple as running, or more complex like throwing a baseball. Bad patters cause bad things to happen over time.
* Genetics. We can’t choose our parents so we are pretty much stuck with the genes that we are born with. People are born with various body types and many structural and functional “issues”.

It is important when dealing with your own “issues” that you look at yourself more closely and try to find out where your problems lie. For example, I was chatting with a gentleman recently about his chronic knee problems. This man had no idea why his knees hurt and gave him problems so much. While it was convenient to blame his problems on “old age”, it became apparent from a quick conversation that most of his problems were the result of past trauma to other parts of his body. Once we identified the issues in these areas that were causing the knee problems, I gave him some basic and effective strategies to help correct the issues. Once corrected, chances are that his knee problems will go away.

I strongly believe that there are numerous “fixes” to most problems in the human body and most of these fixes can be done through simple exercises to correct the imbalances. I notice most people doing the opposite however by trying the band aid approach to the problems as they arise. A handful of Advil, a week off from your activity and some ice might make things feel better temporality, but until the real problem is solved, these issues will continue to haunt you.

Do yourself a big favor; the next time something is hurting, or you finally realize that you have chronic pain that has been with your for more than a month, find out why. Just by pinpointing the other issues in your body, you will better be able to figure out what is causing the current issues and hopefully get them fixed. Seek out a qualified person to help you. Visit your local Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainer, Orthopedic doctor, or educated personal trainer or coach. These people should be able to give you the right information to get you back to where you belong, in good physical health.